Published: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 09:39 PM.

Free Press Editor and Publisher Patrick Holmes pointed out in an editorial on Sept. 6, “In judicial races, voters are asked to choose between candidates who don’t say much about what they’ve done and can’t say anything about what they’re going to do.”

This is alarmingly true, and it behooves all of us to do whatever we can to get some details about these judicial races, particularly on the ones waged statewide, such as the sole N.C. Supreme Court contest between incumbent Justice Paul Newby and Judge Sam Ervin IV, both of whom are 57 years of age.

Justice Newby was elected to the Court in 2004, and is running for a second eight-year term. Here’s some background on Newby.

He received his law degree from UNC School of Law. He has served as a judicial intern in the U.S. Supreme Court and for 19 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Raleigh. The N.C. Bar Association in 2011 presented him with its Citizen Lawyer Award.

He is an Eagle Scout and was named Scouterof the Year at the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. He and his wife Macon were married in 1983, are parents of four children and are members of Christ Baptist Church in Raleigh where he is an elder, Sunday school teacher and youth leader.

“I am fascinated by the vision and wisdom of our Founding Fathers and I am honored to be a part of the greatest justice system in the world,” Newby said.

He has been endorsed by the N.C. Chamber of Commerce PAC (the first time they have made an endorsement in a judicial race); by Tom Fetzer, former mayor of Raleigh and chairman of the N.C. Republican Party; and by four former chief justices of the Supreme Court, two from each party.

Free Press Editor and Publisher Patrick Holmes pointed out in an editorial on Sept. 6, “In judicial races, voters are asked to choose between candidates who don’t say much about what they’ve done and can’t say anything about what they’re going to do.”

This is alarmingly true, and it behooves all of us to do whatever we can to get some details about these judicial races, particularly on the ones waged statewide, such as the sole N.C. Supreme Court contest between incumbent Justice Paul Newby and Judge Sam Ervin IV, both of whom are 57 years of age.

Justice Newby was elected to the Court in 2004, and is running for a second eight-year term. Here’s some background on Newby.

He received his law degree from UNC School of Law. He has served as a judicial intern in the U.S. Supreme Court and for 19 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Raleigh. The N.C. Bar Association in 2011 presented him with its Citizen Lawyer Award.

He is an Eagle Scout and was named Scouterof the Year at the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. He and his wife Macon were married in 1983, are parents of four children and are members of Christ Baptist Church in Raleigh where he is an elder, Sunday school teacher and youth leader.

“I am fascinated by the vision and wisdom of our Founding Fathers and I am honored to be a part of the greatest justice system in the world,” Newby said.

He has been endorsed by the N.C. Chamber of Commerce PAC (the first time they have made an endorsement in a judicial race); by Tom Fetzer, former mayor of Raleigh and chairman of the N.C. Republican Party; and by four former chief justices of the Supreme Court, two from each party.

Judge Ervin serves on the N.C. Court of Appeals, having been in that position since January 2009. Before that, he served for 10 years on the very powerful N.C. Utilities Commission, appointed in 1999 by Gov. Jim Hunt, and appointed for a second term on the Commission in 2007 by Gov. Mike Easley.

Ervin graduated from Davidson College and attended Harvard Law School. He practiced law in Morganton, his hometown, from 1981 to 1989, during which time he handled multiple civil, criminal and administrative matters.

Speaking at a Democratic lunch forum at Guilford County Democratic Headquarters on Sept. 19, Ervin stated that some conservative special interest groups were trying to insert partisan ideology into this race for the N.C. Supreme Court and that he felt partisanship should not be a factor.

Ervin is married to Mary Temple Ervin and they have two children and two stepchildren, and make their home in Morganton. He is the son of Judge Sam Ervin III, and the grandson of the late Sen. Sam Ervin. He has been endorsed by the N.C. Police Benevolent Association, the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and the Trial Lawyers PAC.

There are seven members of the N.C. Supreme Court, and they run during different years so as to maintain seniority on the Court. They serve eight-year terms and are non-partisan. This Court is second in importance only to the governor of our state, and it is imperative that our voices be heard in this contest.

Remember that this race, as well as the three contests for the N.C. Court of Appeals — which we will highlight in a future column — are listed separately on your ballot, so be sure to locate them. The Court of Appeals is second in importance only to the N.C. Supreme Court.

Reece Gardner is the host of ‘The Reece Gardner Hour,’ which airs on TACC-9 at 9 p.m. Mondays, 8 p.m. Tuesdays, 11 p.m. Thursdays, 10:30 p.m. Sundays and on-demand anytime at TACC9.com. You can reach Reece at rbgej@aol.com. The opinions of the guest columnist are not necessarily those of The Free Press.

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Legendary TACC-9 personality Reece Gardner writes a bi-weekly column for The Free Press. It appears in this space every other Wednesday; the guest column will appear here on the other Wednesdays. To write a guest column, please contact Managing Editor Bryan Hanks at 252-559-1074 or at Bryan.Hanks@Kinston.com.